Monday, June 27, 2005

Lesser Noise

Our household is quiet lately, with Pete working upstate and Aubrey away. I’m taking a break from email and news, from the television, from shopping and (as much as possible) from phones. I’m making art, mostly, and listening to Sate’ and Smetana and Chemical Brothers. I’m visualizing, but I’m not acting on it. Not stopping to scribble notes in my book or making quick sketches to tack up on the studio walls. Not this week. I’ll let them zip on by. Zippity-doo-dah...

Orion and I built a bridge from an eclectic mix of blocks and other items that could be stacked but not very well. We seem to agree that the moment of swaying before the inevitable collapse makes us giggle most. We discovered that grapes don’t make terribly good blocks but rubber rats make passable ones.

Now that the mechanics and electrical work is mostly worked out, Ben and I are beginning the task of building the case for Dark Caravan’s as of yet untitled fortune teller. I look forward to working on this. I enjoy the smell of wood when I’m working it-- the shaping and smoothing. I’d hoped to show this piece at the World Fantasy Convention. I don’t think that will be possible as I’ll be unveiling it miles away at the Franks just the week before. Sooo…I’ll have to think of something else fun for WF.

I was thinking about some possible future where our internet relationships become our primary relationships. Already, I have dear friends with whom I interact solely through the internet. I don’t find my feelings diminished by the medium. But, I look forward to seeing those friends in person and I wouldn’t want to have less physical contact with the friends I can get together with. Touch is good. I like the weight of a real book in my hands. This is where Aubrey would call me “such a hippy” and I would remind her that I was more interested in eating love beads than wearing them, but I do remember life before the internet.What if some horrible circumstance(or many small ones) made physical contact taboo? What if disease or environment created a need for physical isolation? Or, what if there is no catalysing event and time just marches on? I like cyberpunk just fine, but still, just now, I want to wonder about this for a bit without the hip characters, high tech gadgets and crisp dialog.

At the moment, I’m not interested in fiction. Likely I’ll see the answer when it gets here. I seriously doubt I’ll remember wondering, back here, this summer about this coming to be. I doubt I remember too many of the details of this years political climate (unless there's some galvanizing event) or which sculptures I made.Probably I’ll remember making bridges out of blocks and rubber rats and grapes.

8 comments:

The situation you describe reminds me irresistibly of Isaac Asmimov's The Naked Sun, where the people pride themselves on never meeting in person if they can help it, while happy to "view" each other electronically.

I'm aware that it's a tendency I have to watch - not that I shun human contact, but I use the telephone a lot less now that part of my existence is online, and I do socialise less than I did a few years ago - not, on the whole, because of the internet, but net acquaintances are some consolation for the social life I don't have time to have right now.

I wouldn't wish the blogosphere out of existence, but I would like to be less of a loner. Perhaps my fiancé being 200 miles away at university doesn't help!

I enjoy my internet relationships as well but I would hate not being face to face with friends and I would love it if there was some way that, with great ease, internet friends could get together occasionally to have "real" conversations.

"I like the weight of a real book in my hands"...I could do an entire, long post on this statement alone. It is so true. The look, smell, and feel of a book makes me rest assured that I'll never do my novel/book reading online unless forced to.

Yes, nothing will ever replace the physical book. You can't read an e-text in the bath, or write your name in the front, or scribble comments all over the margins (if you're so minded. I hardly ever do, but I like to have the option).

That would be "Asimov", above. I can spell, just not type.

The fiancé is coming up in two weeks. I am looking forward to it rather a lot...

i think i started instant messaging in late 1997 or early 1998, and since then i've conducted more and more business online, as well as kept in touch with distant friends and family.

And not so distant, heh, since i routinely IM with my husband at home, from my room upstairs to his room downstairs.

Since i work from home, online, *physical* isolation is the norm for me. i routinely "talk" to many people online every day, so in that sense i'm not isolated from others. But instant messaging, to me, will never take the place of being in the same room with someone, hearing the inflections in their voice, seeing the expressions on their face, and watching, and responding to, body language. It's the next best thing to a phone call, though, so i try not to complain too much....

Now... i *must* admit, the one big advantage to communicating with clients online rather than in person or on the phone..... When a client really works my nerve, i can roll my eyes and call him names and curse him at the top of my voice... and he'll never know, LOL. (SO DON'T TELL!!!)

there are some advantages to online, email, IM, blog, etc. types of communication but I've also learned over the last year that, despite best intentions, the "voice" that is heard by those reading your written words isn't necessarily the "voice" that you meant to convey. Its easy for misunderstandings to occur mainly because you can't hear the inflection, tone, etc. in people's voices when you are reading their words. Its caused me to be a more careful writer...sometimes! :)

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Lisa Explains it all at Stainless Steel Droppings

Lisa is the creator of Poppets and other art. Talented authors tend to write stories about images she makes. At Strange Studios, in Palm Springs, California, she and fellow artist Benton Warren create fantastical kinetic works. This blog is about Poppets, life in the studio and other strange goings on.